Protecting Worker Health and Safety
Orders Strong Federal Action to Protect Workers from COVID-19
What it does
Agencies must issue updated workplace safety guidance, consider and issue emergency COVID-19 standards, increase enforcement, and run multilingual outreach to protect workers.
Real-world impact
- Could lead to emergency workplace standards, including mask rules, by March 15, 2021.
- Increases enforcement focus on violations that put many workers at serious risk.
- Requires multilingual outreach and engagement, emphasizing communities hardest hit by COVID-19.
Topics
Summary
This order directs the federal government to protect workers from COVID-19 by issuing updated workplace safety guidance, considering emergency temporary standards (including masks), and stepping up enforcement.
It affects employers, healthcare and other essential workers, public employees, miners, and workers not covered by existing safety laws, and it asks agencies to coordinate with states and community groups.
The goal is to reduce workplace transmission, inform workers of their rights through multilingual outreach, and target protections to communities hit hardest by the pandemic.
Questions, answered
Ask questions about this executive order and its implications. Try:
- “What agencies are affected by this order?”
- “How does this order change existing policy?”
- “What are the practical implications of this order?”